Game console shipment declines 10 million units during 2012 to 30 million units compared to previous year, according to a report from ABI Research.
During the holiday season, Nintendo sold more than 3 million units of its Wii U game consoles and the analysts said that its next generation console is facing a challenging market in 2013.
ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye said that Nintendo’s Wii U’s troubles are not indicative of the expected market reception for the remaining 8th generation of consoles.
"In fact, the Wii U will likely prove a closer fit with the current generation than the next," Inouye added.
"The software released to date also bears out this assessment with many cross-platform games that were previously available from Microsoft and Sony. While the Wii U Gamepad offers some novel gaming elements it has not yet resonated with core gamers. "
The market is expected register growth in 2013, following previous year decline, which will be mainly due to the price reduction of Wii U, combined with the launch of next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony which could be priced bellow $450.
According to the report, the next generation consoles don’t accept consumer unfriendly practices due to which consumers will give purchases a rethink.
ABI Research TV & Video practice director Sam Rosen said that Mobile gaming has diminished the opportunities for console manufacturers in the casual gaming market and this has hit Nintendo the hardest.
"The evolving business models and added competition have also created additional pricing pressures that encourage price cuts sooner than manufacturers would like," Rosen added.
"New entrants into the console market will add an additional layer of complexity, which should make things interesting, but we still anticipate the market will prove a difficult one for the upstarts."
